Many people don’t realize it, but asphalt is among the world’s most recycling-friendly materials.
With three asphalt manufacturing plants where we accept and process recycled blacktop and other materials, Wolf Paving makes lots of asphalt recycling happen throughout the Milwaukee and Madison areas. Here’s a quick look at 5 key facts behind our efforts.
1. We recycle 100% of the asphalt we remove from job sites.
Typically, our crews mill the material down to small grains at the site. Then we haul the asphalt back to our 3 asphalt production plants in Sun Prairie, Oconomowoc and Menomonee Falls. There, we heat the material back up to incorporate into new mixes.
2. Recycling asphalt greatly reduces use of virgin oil.
All that recycled material contains lots of oil that can be reused in our mixes, instead of fresh oil. In fact, about 25% of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) is recovered oil. We also use 100% recycled oil to fuel the production burners at our asphalt plants.
3. Recycled asphalt makes higher-quality pavement.
Studies show that in many applications, recycled content actually creates a stronger, longer-lasting material. The primary reason is that the milled-down recycled material improves the binding of the particles. The result extends the lifespan of your pavement and reduces repaving/maintenance needs – in turn lowering long-term costs.
4. Nearly all of our asphalt mixes contain recycled material.
Unless specified by a customer to have only virgin content (which is rare), all our mixes contain some amount of recycled material. A recent example of one of our mixes included 32% RAP and 3% recycled asphalt shingles.
5. We accept asphalt shingles and other materials at our plants.
What happens to all those shingles the roofers remove? Smart contractors bring the scrap to Wolf Paving! Recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) make another excellent component of our mixes – adding recovered oil and strong binder. So we’re happy to accept RAS at our plants (as well as those of our sister company, Rock Road). We remove the nails with magnets and grind the rest up for the mix. (By the way, we also accept clean wood – unpainted, unvarnished and untreated – and concrete.)
Got questions about asphalt recycling and how it might fit with your paving needs? Contact our experts today.
